Can stronger glasses suffice until I need cataract surgery?
JAN 17, 2024
Question:
I have cataracts but can see well enough now with prescription glasses. As the cataracts advance, can my glasses be made stronger periodically until I decide it is time for surgery? A relative has told me an optometrist will not prescribe increasingly powerful glasses to compensate if the cause of any worsening vision is due to cataracts.
Answer:
As cataracts develop, they often result in a change in the eyeglass prescription. Therefore, at this early stage, new eyeglasses may restore good vision. But as the cataract worsens, a point will be reached where new eyeglasses will not help. At this point, the optometrist may recommend cataract surgery, because new glasses will not correct the vision any longer. Because the eyeglass prescription always changes following cataract surgery, the optometrist would be correct in not prescribing new glasses if the cataracts are advanced enough to warrant surgery.
This question was originally answered on Feb. 21, 2014.